The social impact of communication improvements is a facinating area of study, and I'd be very interested.
Ruben On Wed, Sep 24, 2003 at 09:44:53AM -0700, Laura Forlano wrote: > Here is a description about a new NYCwireless special > interest group on the social impact of wireless > technology that I hope to announce at tonight's > meeting. I welcome your ideas and involvement. > > The purpose of the proposed NYCwireless social impact > special interest group is to focus on the unique > social changes resulting from the growing adoption of > wireless technology in New York. These include > changes to social norms, interpersonal networks and > the use of public spaces. The group will focus on the > social impact of WiFi hot spots (privately-owned and > community-based) and park projects in conjunction with > the growing proliferation of cell phones. This is > especially important due to the potential for future > convergence in wireless technology services and > devices. It is vital that the social impact of > wireless technology be discussed, brainstormed and > researched at the earliest stages of the proliferation > of these technologies. Such thinking can inform the > next generation of technology design, new business > ventures and policy planning in this area. It is > hoped that such a group would be of interest to an > interdisciplinary group of scholars, artists and > activists, engineers and architects, and others. The > group will meet on a monthly basis for discussion and > brainstorming on projects of mutual interest to SIG > members and the broader NYCwireless community. Once > specific projects are planned, they could be open to > participation by a wider group of volunteers. > Potential projects include: brainstorming effective > ways to mark urban space in order to alert the public > to the existence of free WiFi hotspots, using existing > NYCwireless data about park projects to better > understand social behavior, conducting group data > collection and writing memos or papers based on the > results. > > Laura Forlano > PhD Student, Communications > Columbia University > > -- > NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ > Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ > Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/ -- __________________________ Brooklyn Linux Solutions __________________________ DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS http://fairuse.nylxs.com http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Consulting http://www.inns.net <-- Happy Clients http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive or stories and articles from around the net http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/downtown.html - See the New Downtown Brooklyn.... 1-718-382-0585 -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
